players Page 17 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The most uncomfortable at-bat ever
I join many others in giving MLB hitters a hard time. The need to lift and drive has added an untenable amount of strikeouts to the game, and it can be frustrating watching guys simply pound contact right into a gaggle of fielders shifted over. But we also try to defend them as best we can, given th...
Will Pujols hit No. 700?
There’s no one on Earth hotter than Albert Pujols right now. In his last 10 games, Pujols is slugging 1.258. That is the second-highest mark of his career over any 10-game stretch, beaten only by his slugging percentage between August 6 and August 21 of this year: 1.259. Basically, at 42 years old. ...
Kenny Lofton accused in suit of sending dick pics
Add famed Cleveland Indians leadoff hitter and stolen base king Kenny Lofton to the list of Cleveland sports figures being accused of sexual misconduct in civil court. The retired six-time All-Star is now being sued by a former employee, who claims he was fired for bringing Lofton’s alleged lurid wo...
The Yankees could finish with a worse record than last year
October of last year may feel like an eternity ago, but take yourselves back for a moment. The Yankees were 92-70, securing a wildcard spot on the last day of the season. They lost the wildcard game to the Red Sox in a game where Gerrit Cole didn’t make it through three innings....
UFC has its moments
I feel like if I ever write about the UFC it’ll be treated like Walter Slobchak dressing down Donnie about walking into the middle of a movie. So when I walked into a friend’s house with a semi serious interest in the Kamaru Usman-Leon Edwards fight, I only knew as much as I gleaned from proofing th...
Sad Diego: Padres underperforming and underwhelming post-deadline
On paper, the San Diego Padres got better at the trade deadline. In reality, they’ve gotten worse — and are very quickly becoming the laughingstock of the MLB....
The Yankees know better than to play three- or even two-card Monty
It’s no secret. The Yankees have been awful in the month of August. Since the trade deadline Aug. 2, the once mighty Yankees have gone 3-12 (at the time of writing this), have yet to win a series, and have been outscored by 23 runs. Is it the curse of Joey Gallo? Perhaps. After all, the two-time All...
Deshaun Watson’s suspension was weak because players still refuse to stand up for women
Silence can be ear-splitting....
What could possibly go wrong going down a slide?
It’s a slide. Kids go down these things all the time. Bad things rarely ever happen, but only because they are kids, right? Surely, nothing bad would happen to big adult man David Vassegh. ...
Craig Kimbrel pitching his way off of Dodgers’ postseason roster
Craig Kimbrel needs to be left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster....
Did the Guardians win the Francisco Lindor trade?
Perhaps the biggest bane of modern baseball is most teams’ aversion to keeping the biggest stars in the game, or even having them in the first place. Only a few teams are willing to pay the best players what they’ve earned, and everyone else is looking for ways to move them along as soon as the play...
Dodgers down an arm but still possess depth
In a time when it felt like nothing could go wrong for the Dodgers, something went wrong....
The Angels distilled themselves to their essence against M's
In 10 or 20 years, baseball fans will look back in wonder at what the Angels have accomplished. Or to put it more accurately, all they’ve squandered. There has been no bigger sinkhole than the Angels, considering the resources on hand. They have best player of his generation and literally the most u...
God bless Johnny Cueto
There’s just something about a veteran pitcher whose stuff isn’t the same and yet finds a way. The joy is in knowing every opposing fanbase is screaming, “HE’S SPINNING IT ON HIS FINGER! JUST TAKE IT!” or some such derivative while he’s on the mound as they watch hitter after hitter be bewitched by ...
Will Fernando Tatis’ power (and career) go the way of Ryan Braun?
When I think of post-peak steroid era users in baseball, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, or Robinson Cano aren’t the first names that come to mind. That dishonor goes to former Brewer Ryan Braun. The 2011 NL MVP began his career by regularly tallying 100-plus RBI, and 30-plus home run seasons. He acc...
Fernando Tatís Jr. suspended 80 games for PEDs
After an unfortunate motorcycle accident took the first half of Fernando Tatís Jr.‘s season from us, many baseball fans were getting hyped to see him return to action. He was pimping home run balls in the minors and hitting heckling fans with that signature “can’t touch me” attitude that many Padres...
Devil's advocate: Dylan Cease's 14-game stretch is being overhyped
00000111000111. In binary, that means “LJ” according to the free translator I just Googled, so take that translation with a grain of salt. In baseball, that string of numbers means “OMG”, because that’s exactly how many earned runs White Sox ace Dylan Cease has given up in each of his last fourteen ...
How rare is the HR cycle?
Since 1900, a player has hit three home runs in an MLB game 624 times. Only 16 times has a player hit four. Nobody has ever hit five....
Let’s not crown the Dodgers just yet — but let’s sure as hell enjoy the excellence
The 2022 Dodgers may be the most dominant regular-season team we’ve ever seen. And they have a chance to solidify it....
Mariners' outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been off to a historically bad start to his career
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic was supposed to be a savior. He was supposed to help pull a franchise that had been mostly irrelevant in the annals of baseball history into World Series contention. He was a very popular pick for the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year Award last year....